Akash
Background research: knowledge sharing today, barriers to year-round learning, the eleven options (slides 6–8). Risk register.
Section 01 — Project
Project details and background
Who the Lama Lama Rangers are, and why time together on Country is the constraint this project addresses.
1.1Declaration
Group declaration
Contributions of each member of David’s Friends to this website, agreed by the team.
Rishi
Decision matrix and option selection, the proposed pathway, the four stages (slides 9–12). Website design and build.
Jake
Feasibility and alignment criteria, working with Yintjingga (slides 13–15). Community concerns.
Denzel
Acknowledgement of Country, project context, the design question, the two Ranger programs (slides 1, 3–5). Executive summary and reference list.
Berat
Sustainability and clarity criteria, the prototype concept and test method (slides 16–18). Journey map.
Louis
Implementation, costing and funding, the conclusion (slides 19–21). Website design and build; recommendations.
Slide numbers refer to the team presentation. The website was designed and built by Rishi and Louis; all members contributed to review and editing.
1.2Context
Land and sea Country on Cape York
The Lama Lama People are the Traditional Owners of the land and sea Country around Princess Charlotte Bay on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Port Stewart is the community at the centre of this project (Figure 2).
The Yintjingga Aboriginal Corporation (YAC) coordinates both Ranger programs and holds quarterly community meetings. Any change runs through YAC and the Elders, who hold the authority to decide what knowledge is shared and with whom. This proposal responds to Design Area 4 — Augmenting the Ranger Program.
1.3Two programs
What already exists
Both programs run today. What is missing is a route from one to the other.
Ranger Program
- Care for land and sea Country
- Manage tourism
- Full-time and part-time roles
Junior Ranger Program
- School holiday participation
- Work experience
- Preschool to secondary school
1.4What works
Knowledge passes by doing things together
Three activities carry knowledge between generations, all needing Elders, Rangers and Junior Rangers on Country at once.
Monitoring
Flora and fauna surveys, where Junior Rangers learn species, seasons and sites alongside Rangers.
Education
Cultural programs and camps that bring Elders and young people together on Country.
Practice
Traditional burning and gatherings, where knowledge is shown and used, not only described.
Ranger programs combine traditional knowledge with conservation training to protect Country and Culture.
NIAA, 2022, p. 7
1.5Why it is not enough
Three constraints interrupt time together
These work when they run. The difficulty is how rarely they can, and how little connects one occasion to the next.
01
Weather
Roads close and sites become unreachable from mid-November to April. Cyclones damage Ranger bases and reset the year’s plans.
02
Funding
When budgets go to recovery and repairs, there is less Ranger time left for mentoring.
03
Timing
Junior Rangers can only join during school breaks, so learning comes in short bursts with long gaps between.
Cyclone Trevor severely damaged the Silver Plains and Port Stewart Ranger bases. Lama Lama Rangers coordinated clean-up and reorganised the year’s operations.
NIAA, 2022, p. 29
The gap: everything depends on shared time on Country, but nothing carries a young person’s learning across the gaps, and nothing shows them what comes next.